Is gas de-icer a waste of money?
At one time, and not that long ago, a little bottle of gas line antifreeze or deicer had a home in just about every glovebox on the road, and every tool box in the garage.
Drivers would buy multipacks of it every fall, to help their commuter chariots start and run smoothly from December through April.
Those were the days before ethanol-blended fuel, and during particularly messy winter weeks, drivers couldn’t always rely on the quality of fuel purchased from gas stations.
It could be contaminated with water, which found its way into the fuel supply chain primarily at stations with underground tanks that didn’t have proper water drainage on the tarmac above them.
This can still be an issue, and most stations regularly use a large dipstick – painted
with a special coating on one end — to measure the water content of fuel in the underground tanks.
WATER IS THE PROBLEM
Excessive water content in gasoline can cause some severe symptoms, even on modern fuel-injected engines. These can include hard start or no-start conditions, lack of power, and jerky response to the accelerator. Gasoline deicer sales have plummeted in the last 10 years because fuel producers are putting ethanol (ethyl alcohol) into their blends.
Fuel deicer’s primary active ingredient is alcohol, so if refineries are putting 10 per cent alcohol into their regular blends, a few ounces from a plastic bottle into a full tank won’t really add much to the mix.
AN UP SIDE TO ALCOHOL’S DOWN SIDE
Added alcohol to fuel has also resulted in an improvement to gas station holding tanks. A few years back, it was discovered that the alcohol in fuel was weakening the fiberglass strands used to reinforce the in-ground fuel tanks.
As a result, many retailers have replaced their tanks to avoid the risk of leaks — both of fuel getting out, and water getting in.
For most of us, the risk of getting water-contaminated fuel is low, and if we’re using regular gasoline blended with alcohol, the chances of having a running problem are pretty much zero.
DIESEL CAN FEEL THE COLD
But what about diesels?
They’re a different matter. Diesel refiners blend their winter fuels to specific temperature and weather condition expectations — for example, Ontario has eight difference climate zones for diesel winter blends.
The risk is in filling up in a milder-blend zone, and then driving to a much colder area. This can cause gelling in diesel, or form crystals, which can plug filters and reduce performance. It’s more common in commercial trucks than in personal-use vehicles but be cautious.
Keep in mind that even the best diesel winter additives can’t fix most gelling or crystal problems when they’ve already occurred and it’s cold outside.
The fuel has to be completely warmed up for the additive to do its job, so if you’re using an additive, be sure to put it in your tank before it gets too chilly outside.